Uzumaki Chronicles: Red Death
by Rurouni Tyriel
Summary: A plague breaks out on a border town of the Fire Country, and Sakura is dispatched with medicine to aid the medicnins there, and given an armed escort. When she arrives, however, she and her team discover there is more at work here than a simple plague.
1. Outbreak

**Disclaimer: **

I don't own Naruto, it belongs to Kishimoto. I wish I owned Naruto though, or at least had permission to write for the filler arcs. Then I could get this story animated.

**Summary: **

A plague breaks out on a border town of the Fire Country, and Sakura is dispatched with medicine to aid the medic-nins there, and given an armed escort. When she arrives, however, she and her team discover there is more at work here than a simple plague. Takes place sometime during the Filler Arcs and before the Timeskip. Rated PG-13 for action violence and some light cursing

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Near the border of the Grass Country, there existed a small town. Nothing particularly noteworthy about this town, it had stone buildings (most no higher than two stories), reasonably content people, beautiful scenery. It's primarily source of income was lumber, and it's people were hardworking and prosperous. If there was any fear of their neighbors in Hidden Grass or further northwest, in the rocky country of Earth, they were dispelled by the comforting thought of Konoha's shinobi watching over their town.

However, these days they had a new fear.

An unseen menace had slipped amongst the town of Takaki, as it was known. Not ninja, this foe was far more sinister, and killed its victims far more slowly.

Disease.

At first it had been a few individuals caught by the trouble, a few people stricken, mostly those overworked, the elderly, the young. But soon full-grown, healthy men and women began to come down with the illness, which quickly earned the moniker the Crimson Plague. So named because the victim's body broke out into horrible red splotches, their temperature climbed, and eventually they succumbed to a raging fever, dying within a matter of days.

The plague spread quickly. Medic-nin were dispatched from Hidden Leaf itself, under the orders of the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade. They moved quickly to quarantine the disease and prevent it from spreading further. Takaki was closed off, armed shinobi posted at every entrance to the city, and no one was allowed in or out save the medic-nin.

However, as the days turned to hours turned to days and the days to weeks, the plague ravaged the population, and the supplies of the medic-nin began to run low.

So Tsunade sent a special team to deliver them.

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"... and that's where you come in," stated the Fifth Hokage, as she handed out the mission profile paper. "You're to deliver the medical supplies to our team already out at Takaki and provide any other assistance that may be needed."

"Everything you'll need is already waiting by the west gate with Izumo and Kotetsu," added Shizune, standing as she usually did by her mentor's right and slightly behind her, ready to provide whatever assistance was needed.

Sakura accepted the mission profile and nodded. "Understood," she said, turning to depart.

"Hold on," came Tsunade's voice, and Sakura came to a halt, almost doing a _kaiten_ in her haste to turn back around. "This mission is going to need more than you're able to provide," stated the elderly, blonde woman. "Not only is it dangerous, you're going to need muscle to haul all of these supplies, I wouldn't dream of making you do it all by yourself. We'll just need to wait until your teammates arrive."

"Teammates?"

A respectful knock came at the door, almost on cue, and moments later it swung open wide to reveal...

"Konoha's Beautiful Green Beast, Rock Lee, is here," he announced. Unnecessarily, or so Sakura thought.

"Rock Lee will be accompanying you to protect you and the shipment, Sakura. He... er..."

"... cheerfully volunteered," supplied Shizune diplomatically. She and Tsunade shared a glance, and Sakura shivered, imaging perfectly well what had really happened.

Pushing those thoughts aside, she smiled, turned to Lee, and dipped her head respectfully. "Thank you for agreeing to come with me, Lee," she said.

"Thank you, Sakura-san. I promise, no harm will come to you or the shipment. I will protect you with my life," he stated, striking one of his legendary 'nice guy' poses and flashing his teeth.

As one, Sakura, Tsunade, and Shizune sweatdropped.

Tsunade cleared her throat, dispelling the awkward silence that followed. "There's one other coming with you," said the Fifth Hokage. "Idiot needed something to do to keep busy," she muttered under her breath.

Sakura's emerald eyes grew wide, a sinking feeling already creeping over her. "Not...?"

"Saaakuuuraaa-chaaaannn!"

Sakura slapped her hand against her forehead, groaning in frustration. "Naruto..."

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As the sun began to rise in the east, the small, three-man team stepped out of the shadows of the western gate of Konoha. The sun at their backs, they started off on a brisk pace along the road, heading towards the town of Takaki.

The one in front, setting the pace, was a blonde, spiky-haired boy of no more than thirteen at most. Fair-sized and muscular, with distinct whisker-marks on his cheeks and piercingly bright blue eyes. He was clad in an almost painfully bright orange jumpsuit, trimmed in blues and bearing a swirl of red on the back. A holster was strapped to his leg and a pack rested on the back of his waist, and a forehead protector across his brow.

Slightly to his left was a girl, whose hair was a most unusual shade of pink and her eyes were like jade chips. A forehead protector lay draped over her head, drawing back her locks to expose her overly wide forehead. She was dressed in bright reds and blues, complementing her features, and her dress left her muscular arms bare. She too was armed as a shinobi and carrying a pack slung over her shoulders.

Behind them all came another boy, a good head taller than his compatriots and a lot more lean, his slender, wiry body showcased by skintight green spandex. A forehead protector was slung across his waist, his arms and legs were heavily bandaged. He too wore a hip pack and a holster strapped to his leg, and a pack rested on his shoulders as he took proud strides forward.

Together, they set out along the trail to Takaki. Their spirits were high, their morale practically in the clouds. They were in the springtime of youth, whether they realize it or not, and firmly believed themselves to be invincible to any sort of danger or harm.

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High up in the distance, atop of the Hokage's Mansion, Tsunade and Shizune watched as the small Genin team quickly faded into small dots on the horizon, then vanished. Behind them, the silent, stone faces of the former Hokages seemed to do the same, as their great eyes of rock watched over all in the village of Konoha, those who came and went, who lived and worked in the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

"It's a good team you picked," said Shizune pleasantly, as if chatting about the weather. "Lee and Naruto won't let Sakura come to any harm. Not if they have anything to say about it."

"I'd like to think the same could be said of anyone I assigned," replied Tsunade diplomatically.

"Those two will approach it with more... enthusiasm, perhaps," Shizune said, smirking a little. Tsunade returned the expression. Her apprentice was right, after all. She only hoped that both Naruto and Lee would be able to focus on the mission and not break down into a wrestling match to prove themselves for Sakura. Partly for their sake.

"But if I may ask," continued Shizune. "Why did you send Sakura herself? She's not fully trained yet."

Tsunade's smirk faded, then turned to a frown as she turned to watch the three Genin depart. "Because becoming a medic-nin cannot be taught wholly in books or hospitals. She will have to learn how to work in the field when life and death hang in the balance. This is as much a test for her as it is a mission," stated Tsunade.

"If she cannot rise to the challenge... there is no future for her as a medic-nin."

Shizune frowned lightly at that. "If... if this is about her last assignment..."

"It is. She has to learn. I just hope she deals with it better than I did," replied Tsunade with a sigh. As always, her training Sakura tended to bring back bittersweet memories of Dan. She'd loved him, and lost him. No medic-nin could halt death, no matter how hard they tried. Nor could they save everybody.

Sakura had to learn that.

Even though her lesson had already partly begun.

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At first, when they'd set out from Konoha, Sakura had been mildly pleased.

Both Naruto and Rock Lee were her friends, after all. They'd both saved her life at least once with little thought to their own safety, and she got along reasonably well with both of them, when Naruto wasn't loudly proclaiming he was going to be Hokage some day, and Rock Lee wasn't shouting equally loud about the springtime of youth. And, a more practical part of her mind agreed, it was useful for them to carry the supplies, being boys that they were. Not that she was weak by any stretch of the imagination.

She quickly found being in the company of -both- of them wore on her nerves.

"Oh! What happened then, Naruto-san?!" asked Rock Lee enthusiastically.

"I took each and every one out with my bare hands! Not a single merchant got so much as a scratch!" replied Naruto, with equal enthusiasm.

"Oh yes! Most impressive!" Rock Lee stated, nodding his head in appreciation of Naruto's tale. Behind them both, Sakura rolled her eyes. She'd seen the real reports. Shikamaru and Gaara's influence had helped, and Naruto had spent more time getting into trouble than being useful.

"It reminds me of the time...!" started Rock Lee.

"SHUT... UP...!!" roared Sakura.

Both boys nearly jumped clean out of their skins, froze, and turned around to face their teammate, who was practically spitting fire from her mouth, with green flames for eyes.

"Just shut up, both of you!" she shouted. "I am sick and tired of hearing about your stupid missions!"

Angrily, Sakura began to stalk forward, and both boys leapt clear out of the way as she stepped between them and continued down the trail, watching her with more than a little fear. Sakura sighed a little once her back was to them, and almost relaxed. Maybe she -was- being a bit of a bitch, she thought. She was just tired about hearing about everyone's cool missions and never going on them.

And then there was that incident...

"You bastard!" came a cry behind her.

Rock Lee and Naruto had thrown down their backpacks and looked on the verge of attacking one another.

"How dare you trouble the wise and beautiful Sakura-san with your uncouth ramblings!" stated Rock Lee proudly, hand upraised to beckon Naruto on.

"ME?! You were the one who wouldn't shut up about the one time you and Gai went to the Tea Country and..." he replied, hands upraised into fists.

Sakura calmly strode over between them, grabbed both Naruto and Rock Lee by the front of their jacket and jumpsuit, respectively...

"I said..."

... and with a mighty yell, hurled them both through the air.

"... SHUT... UP! SHANNARO!"

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The going from that point on was pretty quiet, to say the least.

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**Author's Notes: **

Takaki roughly translates as Tall-tree or some such. And Sakura's not being overly mean for no reason (being out of character, for instance) there's a reason for it that'll be explained later.


	2. Plague Town

Less than two days later, the small team arrived on the outskirts of Takaki, observing it from a nearby hill. This part of the Fire Country was covered in thick pine trees, which quickly came to an abrupt end around the city of Takaki, who's people used them as a natural resource. However, they saw no sign of devastation or deforestation, the people evident planted as many trees as they cut down. Considerate of future generations.

The city was walled off by a tall wall of spiked wooden logs, specially treated with sap to make them impossible to climb properly. Guards were posted at every entrance, although these days they kept watch on those both coming and going, for a banner over the east gate proclaimed the Takaki was a plague town, and not to be entered lightly.

Fortunately, the guards accepted Sakura's pass and after a brief inspection of her and her teammates, allowed them to pass.

She slipped a mask over her face, and tossed another pair to Naruto and Lee.

"Put these on," she stated, securing it deftly behind her ears. Rock Lee quickly mimicked her actions.

Naruto, however, peered down at it in confusion. "What's this for?" he asked.

"To keep you from breathing in the disease," replied Sakura matter-of-factly. "We've not heard any reports yet of how it is transmitted, so until then we're taking every necessary precaution."

Naruto frowned at that, but slipped the mask on and tied it behind his head as he'd been shown, though he muttered under his breath how he'd never gotten sick in his life. "Hey cool..." he suddenly realized aloud. "We look just like Kakashi-sensei."

Sakura rolled her eyes and nodded politely to the guards, who let them in.

It was like stepping into another world.

Outside of the village it was the forests of Konoha, alive with the chirps of birds, the skittering of squirrels, the rustling of leaves in the wind. Here, inside the plague city of Takaki, it was silent as a grave. So much so that Naruto came to a dead halt behind his teammates to peer around. No sign of movement, no sign of people. The wind howled eerily through the empty and closed buildings of the town and made it seem like a ghost town, devoid of all life. Not even a stray dog or rat could be seen anywhere in sight. The markets were closed, and people had already been sent to the hospitals, or else huddled inside their homes, afraid.

It was so quiet, in fact, that when a loud 'bang' noise went off, Naruto nearly jumped nine feet straight up into the air, kunai in hand as he came back down, trying to locate the source of the noise.

A second 'bang' gave it away, it was a loose window shutter, flapping in the wind. Obviously it hadn't been secured properly.

"Let's move on," said Sakura. "We need to see the leader of the village and find out where the medic-nin are."

"Sure, Sakura-san," replied Lee, shifting the pack on his back. He and Naruto followed behind her.

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Finding the town leader's home wasn't so very hard, it seemed.

Most of the town was full of nothing but dead plants, untended by their owners, left to rot and die. Not so at his estate, every blade of grass was healthy and green, flowers were prevalent everywhere. Armed guards (not Konoha shinobi, they saw) again checked to make sure they were clear before admitting them in, whereupon they gratefully shucked their masks and were led to an audience chamber.

The providence leader of Takaki was a nephew of the Fire Country's Daimyo, a dark-haired, dark-eyed young man (properly a boy not much older than seventeen) with the pale skin of an individual who did not get outside often, but none-the-less seemed fit and able. He was dressed in dark blue garments befitting a nobleman. He bowed politely as the team entered, smiling.

"We are very honored to meet you," he stated. "And we give our thanks on behalf of Takaki for the medical supplies you have brought as well."

"Thank you, my liege," replied Sakura, curtseying as protocol demanded, while Naruto and Rock Lee bowed to either side of her.

He chuckled at that, however, and with that relaxed attitude it became apparent he wasn't nearly as old as he seemed, he might've been no older than fifteen or so. "Oh please, we don't stand on ceremony here. You can call me Tekka... it is the name my mother gave me, after all, and she was reputedly a very clever woman, so let's humor her, mmm?"

Sakura giggled at that, and nodded. "Tekka then."

"And your names?" he asked.

"Oh excuse me," she said, her cheeks stained crimson as she realized how rude she was being. "I'm Haruno Sakura. This is Rock Lee, and Uzumaki Naruto."

"A pleasure," stated Lord Tekka, though it was clear he was speaking only to Sakura, largely ignoring both of her teammates. "Well then, if we'll not stand on ceremony we'd best get to work, those supplies should get to where they're needed."

"Right, just tell us where the medic-nins have been set up and we'll head there right away," stated Sakura, eager to prove herself.

She was puzzled, therefore, when the Lord's face contracted briefly into a grimace. "Er... perhaps your friends can rest a moment while I speak with you, Sakura-san?"

She frowned lightly at that, respectful though it was. "Whatever you have to say you can say in front of my team," she stated.

"Oh I see... well in that case... perhaps I'd best accompany you. We've set up a place for the sick just a little way from here, in the Southern District, and had it quarantined..."

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South District was very close. As Lee phrased it, just a 'hop, skip, and a jump' away from the Lord's manor. They'd replaced their masks and moved in, showing their papers, though the sight of the Lord of Takaki among them made such protocol superfluous, thankfully. And so it was that Sakura and the others made their way into one of the buildings marked with the sign of the plague.

It had previously been a restaurant, but all chairs and tables had been pushed aside to make room for beds. Inside, nearly all were occupied by the sick. Men, women, old, young, the plague did not recognize gender or age, it struck remorselessly at all. All were universally marked, covered in red lesions. Most were unconscious, and those that weren't suffered from high fever. Some were muttering in their sleep.

As they watched, a pair of men came by, carrying a shrouded individual between them. One glance was enough for even Naruto to tell this individual would never be waking up again.

"Goddamn..." he whispered, to no one in particular.

Ninja lived and breathed death, they saw it all the time on missions. But this... this was something else entirely. This was horrific.

Sakura, somewhat used to dealing with the dead, quickly slid off her pack, moving forward to examine one of the patients, sliding on some gloves before she did so to avoid skin-to-skin contact. No sense in taking risks, after all. Some gentle chakra probing helped. "Are they all like this?" she asked, glancing over her shoulder at the young lord.

"Yes... the plague strikes without warning... and always the same," he stated, his voice muffled slightly by the mask over his face. "Fever, rash, then these red lesions... within days they are like the poor soul you saw carried out. It is as if they are burned alive from within."

"A gruesome fate," remarked Lee.

Suddenly reminded of her teammates, Sakura began issuing instructions for the medicine, and they began to disperse it. Most of it wasn't going to help much, but it might ease some people's sufferings or slow the disease down a bit.

"Where are all the medic-nins?" asked Sakura, glancing back at the young lord.

He nodded his head to a few rows down grimly. "They were some of the plagues first victims," he stated. "The team sent in also quickly succumbed... I'm afraid at the moment, you're the only one left in all of Takaki, Sakura-san."

It was a lot to take in. Sakura reeled from it... terrified. She'd never been on her own before. Always there'd been someone to back her up before. Kakashi, Tsunade, Shizune... anyone. Now she was all alone. And worse, responsible for the fate of the entire village.

She suddenly found it impossible to breath.

"I..."

"Hey, easy," stated the lord, patting her shoulders gently. "Lot to take in, I know... listen I think some of the other medic-nin are still conscious. Talk to them. I'll help your teammates disperse the medicine..."

"No... no we can't risk you being infected," she said, turning back to him.

He smiled behind his mask, his eyes twinkling. "I'd make a poor leader if my town dies and I sit back doing nothing. I'll help... just show me what to do."

She did, grateful for the extra help, and watched with no little admiration as the lord went amongst his people to distribute the medicine, though he seemed hopelessly inept. Still, at least he wasn't spilling the water like Naruto was or bumping one cot's legs like Lee had.

Taking his advice, Sakura spoke to those medic-nin still conscious to learn what she could about the disease. Apparently, it was spread by touch only, it wasn't airborn or the like, so they were reasonably safe from infection so long as they wore gloves (a fact she called out to Naruto, Lee, and Tekka quickly, as well as anyone else who was listening). As Lord Tekka had described... infection, fever, rashes, red lesions, sometimes accompanied by delirium and dehydration... and usually ended in death. So far it was one hundred percent lethal. No one had survived it. No one was immune.

No one was safe.

"There... there's something else," said the medic-nin, clinging to Sakura's arm with his gloved hand. "Important..."

She laid a comforting hand over his. One of her lessons with Tsunade had included good bedside manner. "What is it? I'm listening."

"The... the shinobi infected... we can't... can't mold chakra... can't use ninjutsu. Hits fast. Helpless... can't... can't..." A fit of coughing interrupted him, and she quickly provided him with some drinking water.

"We're helpless... this disease will kill us all...!"

Sakura lightly snapped her gloved hands together, forming a seal, then pressed her fingers against the medic-nin's forehead. "Get some rest," she intoned, utilizing a commonly known medical jutsu used to relax patients. Her patient quickly was out like a light, though Sakura wasn't sure if that was comforting or not.

It was all on her now.

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Later that evening, Rock Lee came across his team leader slumped over, unconscious, and faintly snoring. A cursory glance suggested nothing unpleasant had happened (such as an attack) merely that she'd worn herself out from working so hard all day long.

It was admirable, really, to see such dedication, and he felt his eyes grow misty at the sight of it.

Wiping his eyes with the back of his hand, Rock Lee picked up Sakura as gently as he could to carry her to the medical quarters that had been set up for them next to the infirmary. It was a homestead that had been abandoned, it's owners either dead or hiding out in one of the other districts. Naruto had already gone there hours ago (sent out by Sakura, who'd grown exasperated by all the damage he'd caused).

Rock Lee took Sakura to her room and made sure she was comfortable, laying her down on her bed so she could get some rest. The Springtime of Youth could be a rewarding time but even Gai-sensei did not critique his students for getting proper rest.

Sakura was muttering something her sleep, but he couldn't quite make it out. Nor, he decided, was it any of his business.

Even so, Rock Lee spent the remainder of the night outside of Sakura's room, standing watch.

Something about this whole mission unsettled him, though he couldn't place his finger on it. Something didn't _feel_ right. And he'd learned to trust his instincts.

He wouldn't let anything happen to his beloved Sakura.

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**Author's Notes:**

Tekka can mean a red-hot iron, gunfire, gambling or a violent temper. It's also a minor Uchiha name, but since the character was dead, I didn't feel so bad stealing it. Not the same guy. 


	3. Competition

_The beep of machines. Rapid. Angry. _

_"... Pulse is racing...!" _

_"_Shousen Jutsu_" _

_"Open his shirt!" _

_Beeping faster. _

_"_Shousen Jutsu_!" _

_"Sakura get out of the way!" _

_"His heart's going to give out!" _

_A scream. _

_"_SHOU-SEN JU-TSU_!!" _

_A long, steady beep. _

_Crying. _

_Then silence. _

_"Time of Death..." _

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In the morning, Sakura awoke with a start... to the chirping of birds outside of her window. Sighing in some relief, shaking the dark dream away, she sat up on her bed. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she moved to the doorway and out into the hall, hoping to find something to eat. She'd skipped dinner last night, too busy trying to help ease the patients in the infirmary. Though she stopped to regard an odd sight on her way out.

Rock Lee, standing upright outside of her door... fast asleep. Whilst still standing.

Had he been watching all night? she wondered.

"Lee... it's morning," she said, reaching up to tap him on the shoulder.

He continued to doze, seemingly unaware of her. She was about to try again when she remembered one of Naruto's mission stories, about how Rock Lee had fought off one of the Seven Mist Swordsmen, Raiga, while he'd been unconscious. Fighting purely by muscle memory. He might misinterpret her move as an attack and retaliate. Really not in the mood to start the morning with a sparring match, Sakura made her way to the kitchen.

She'd just settled down with a good meal (studying as a kunoichi had taught her some basic homemaking skills) when there was a knock at the door.

She opened it to find the smiling, handsome face of the young lord Tekka.

"Morning," he said cheerfully. "Mind if I come in?"

"I... uh... sure..." she said, making her way back to the table and scooping up some more of her morning breakfast, setting it aside for him on a spare plate. Part of her admonished herself for doing that, she'd cooked that for Rock Lee and Naruto. The other part, her inner self, told her to stop worrying. She was just being polite to the Lord of Takaki. Besides, not like Rock Lee and Naruto were completely defenseless. They'd be able to make their own breakfast.

She wasn't their mother.

"Here... sorry it's nothing better," she said, setting his plate before him and digging into her own meal. Rice and some over-fried bacon mostly. Nothing fancy. "Had to make do with what we could find. I'll have to go and get some water from the well later."

"Oh there's no need for that, I've have a barrel sent down here."

"There's really no need..."

"I insist. Besides, it's not the meal I care about... it's the company," he stated with a warm smile. "I'm not really here for breakfast I was hoping for a chance to talk to you. Have you learned anything?"

She sighed heavily. "Nothing useful... just what you said. It's lethal... none of the treatments work either. Nothing stops this damn thing... just slows it down." Another sigh, and she suddenly felt how very tired she was from staying up so late last night.

"Hey, relax... you're doing your best," he replied.

"My best isn't good enough," she replied.

"Hey... let's not hear talk like that," he said, reaching across the table...

The door slammed open, and Sakura nearly jumped out of her skin.

"Morning!" shouted Naruto. "Mmmm, something smells good! Did you make breakfast, Sakura-chan?!"

Rolling her eyes and muttering something about stupid blondes, Sakura loudly replied "No, Naruto! Go make your own!"

"Fine! I'll just go cook some ramen! Morning Lord Tekka."

Sakura turned her attention back to the young, who's hand deftly plucked up a fork and brought it back to his side of the table. He smiled, though it seemed faintly forced. "Morning... Uzumaki, wasn't it?" he stated, returning to his meal.

The pink-haired medic-nin couldn't believe herself. Had he been about to touch her hand? Did he like her? Did she like him, for that matter? Sure he was a lord, but he was also charming, handsome, friendly. And in the right light, he almost looked a little like...

"Hey Sakura have we got any water to boil?"

"Not for a bit, just go to the well, Naruto!" she shouted back, angry at him interrupting her thoughts.

She shook her head, clearing her thoughts. Mission, her inner self reminded herself. Saving people's lives, remember?

Medicine. Not flirting!

Naruto departed before Lord Tekka turned back to regard her. "So tell me a little about your teammates... you're all genin?"

"You know about shinobi ranks?"

"I have family who were part of Konoha's illustrious forces," he replied.

"Well... yeah we're Genin. But Rock Lee and Naruto are amazingly strong for their age. They would've passed the Chuunin exams with a bit more luck."

"Really... tell me more..." he said, leaning forward. And though he listened and commented politely to her stories, it was obvious his interest was focused solely on her alone.

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After a hearty breakfast, the four of them headed down the way back to the plague house to see what they could do. Lord Tekka bid them a farewell midway down the path, stating he was needed to attend to other matters. Sakura bid him farewell, and he gave her a polite kiss on the back of her hand before he departed.

Sakura's eyes were little hearts.

Naruto and Rock Lee glared daggers into his back.

Fortunately, well before they arrived at the plague house Sakura had planned a way to get rid of the both of them before they caused more damage with their admittedly well-meaning clumsiness.

"I need you both to do me a favor," she stated, slipping on her gloves and tying the mask back on around the lower part of her face.

"Anything," replied Rock Lee.

"Just name it," affirmed Naruto.

She held up a small book for them she carried in her satchel, open to a particular page. "Good, now pay close attention... this is the Marojarm herb," she said, tapping the picture in question of a short, stubby little weed with reddish "hair" growing along it's leaves. "It's fairly easy to find, and it's a useful substitute to real medicine if one ever finds themselves in desperate straits."

Like now, she thought, then angrily pushed it aside.

"Go out, bring back as many as you can possibly find," she said. "The leaves are of vital importance, but the whole thing is useful. Got it?"

"Got it," they replied. As one, Naruto and Lee turned and practically raced down the street, leaping up onto rooftops and bounding clear over the village walls and out into the forest. Shaking her head, at once grateful and tired of all that boundless energy they both had, she turned back into the sick house and began to distribute medicine to the patients.

As she did, she took down a few notes herself.

She'd find a way to beat this thing, she vowed.

She wasn't going to lose someone else if she could help it.

Midway through her rounds, Sakura did begin to notice something peculiar about the patients, though it took her a quick examination of another two to make sure she was positive. It was the red lesions, she realized. Something about them clicked in the back of her mind.

But it was almost too awful to contemplate.

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Elsewhere...

"Alright!" said Naruto, throwing his satchel over his shoulder. "I'm going to get Sakura all of the Maroj... Majoram... uh... all the herbs she needs!" he said, pumping his fist into the air. "Believe it!"

"Ooh Naruto-kun! If I cannot surpass the number of herbs you find, I swear I will walk back to Takaki on my hands!" replied Lee.

"Fine! And if I lose, then I do the same!" Naruto shouted right back. "Only once this mission is over I walk on my hands all the way back to Hidden Leaf!"

"It is a promise!" he said, sealing the deal with his customary 'nice guy' pose.

As one, the two boys broke away and went tearing into the underbrush with such enthusiasm that most woodland creatures could only assume that an army had come to destroy their home and were sent fleeing in droves, even as Naruto and Lee tore up plant after plant, examining them quickly, tossing aside those that did not match. Those that bore even a passing resemblance to the Marojarm herb was thrust into their satchels as they ran along. After a short while they split up and went in separate directions so as to find better hunting ground.

Rock Lee felt exhilarated, as he always did when he was out working up a sweat and, even more so, when a challenge had been made. And, unlike Naruto, he had a fair idea of what he was doing, as he'd been given similar requests before by Tsunade and Sakura during his frequent trips to the hospital. They used it as a way to keep him from training while injured and still be active. He recognized the herb that his beloved Sakura-chan wanted, and he imagined he'd have enough to heal the whole town of Takaki by the end of the day.

It was about mid-day when he realized something, and came to an almost abruptly halt in his gatherings, hanging upside down from a tree branch. He and Naruto hadn't formally settled on a time. And it was already starting to grow close to lunchtime, and his growing body demanded food. He could only imagine how hungry Naruto (infamous for his appetite) was.

Shouldering his satchel, Rock Lee pushed off the tree branch and leapt gracefully from one to another to seek his comrade. To his surprise, he found Naruto lying against a nearby tree, his back to Lee, resting comfortably. He looked like he'd taken a nap.

That was odd, he thought.

Rock Lee made his way to Naruto to shake his shoulder and rouse him from his sleep, but snatched his hand back an instant before it was too late, his eyes wide and his fuzzy eyebrows shooting up into his bangs in shock.

Uzumaki Naruto's skin was blistering red.

"Oh no..."

Very careful, mindful to avoid skin-to-skin contact (and painfully aware of his lack of mask and gloves) Rock Lee grabbed up Naruto's satchel and slung it over his other shoulder, letting them both rest there, and then carefully grabbed up Naruto in his arms, slinging him over his shoulders. He wasn't very heavy, fortunately, and they didn't have far to go, so Rock Lee took off like a shot, speeding through the forest until they were safely back inside of Takaki.

Rock Lee's heavy foot slammed open the door as he called out for aid.

"Sakura! We've got a problem!"

--

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--

**Author's Notes: **

Marjoram is a real herb, and Marojarm is its made-up counterpart for the story (not a misspelling). I'm not a doctor or an herbalist, so it's easier to make things up as I go along. I'd also like to apologize to Naruto fans who think I'm being abusive to him in my stories. He can take a hit better than most, so I tend to injure him a lot, knowing he can bounce right back. 


	4. Discoveries

"_Shousen Jutsu!! SHOUSEN JUTSU!! SHOU-SEN JU-TSU!!_" shouted Sakura, all but slamming her hands down on Naruto's chest, glowing emerald with healing chakra. Try as she might, nothing changed. Nothing helped. Naruto, whom she loved like a brother, was only continuing to get worse.

"Sakura-san...!" Strong hands clasped over hers, holding her.

"Let go of me, Lee!" She cried, tears streaming down her cheeks as she struggled vainly against him. Hopelessly, it was. Even without Lee's considerable strength against her own, she was weak, exhausted, and nearly drained of chakra.

"I cannot do that, Sakura-san," he replied calmly, still holding her down. "If you continue this you'll burn off not only your chakra but all the life left in you..."

"I don't care! I have to save him!"

"You will... but not like this..."

Unable to struggle, unable to argue, Sakura collapsed, sobbing, against Lee, who held her in his arms and stroked the back of her head, doing his best to comfort her. But even he watched in concern the poor form of Naruto lying on the cot before him. Already the lesions were starting to form on his skin. They'd remove his jacket and t-shirt, setting them on a nearby table. Naruto was unconscious... he hadn't even noticed when he'd been sick, right up until he'd collapsed.

"Stubborn idiot," muttered Sakura, choking back another sob. "Why did you... why does he have to...? To...?" She sobbed again heavily, tears flowing freely.

And Rock Lee just held her. He didn't have any answers either. No one did. All he could offer was his comfort, and even that seemed painfully insufficient at the moment. But she took it and held onto it for dear life.

_I fear this is one danger I cannot protect you from_, he thought, feeling her shudder against his wiry frame. His eyes glanced up at the body of his teammate, and he grimaced at the sight of the hyperactive blonde so quiet and still. Lee and Naruto had quickly become some of the closest of friends after the chuunin exams. Both outcasts, both dropout losers (as Neji would have said... back then, at least), both fiercely determined to prove themselves. Even united by their protective feelings for Sakura... which might've resulted in a painful rivalry if Sakura hadn't unequivocally chosen someone who wasn't either of them.

_Naruto-kun, you had best get better_, he thought. _And not just for her sake_.

--

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--

Sakura was sitting atop of the hut's roof when lunchtime came around, but she couldn't eat a morsel, despite Lee's insistence she take a break for lunch. He was out securing more herbs in the forest at the moment, and he'd been returning soon. She knew he wouldn't rest until she'd eaten something, so she'd dusted off the riceballs, nibbled at the ends. It didn't help. The food tasted like ash in her mouth.

She barely even noticed when Lord Tekka came to find her, climbing up with a ladder and some great difficulty, he confessed. She hadn't even heard him coming. His humor evaporated as soon as he saw Sakura's sad eyes. Her teammate was dying. Her closest friend. And she could do nothing to stop it. It was happening again.

"This isn't the first time you've lost someone dear, is it?" he asked, with an unusual insight into the situation.

She shook her head. "No... I've lost two people now... the first was... was..."

"... someone very close to you, right?"

She glanced up at him, and in that instant, she realized why he was suddenly so attractive to her. He looked almost exactly like...

But he wasn't, her inner self reminded her. He's not him. He never will be. Lord Tekka wasn't like her childhood crush in a lot of ways, save appearance. He wouldn't have made a good shinobi, for one thing, he wasn't very strong or fast or agile. He was kinder, too, more eager to laugh and joke and smile. And his resemblance was vague at best, his features clearly weren't the same. But she realized, the more time she spent around him, the more she could see Sasuke in Lord Tekka.

Or maybe, the Sasuke she'd always wanted to see in Lord Tekka.

"And the other was quite recent, I'm guessing," he continued.

Startled a little by his perception, she studied him closely. "You lost someone as well, didn't you?"

He nodded, settling down on the rooftop beside her.

"My big brother... he was a shinobi, like you all... he perished on a mission far south of here. Something very secretive. They can't give out many details," he relayed with a sigh. "I miss him."

"... I lost a patient recently. An older man... he'd had a heart condition long before he came to the hospital..."

She closed her eyes, but the images came anyway.

--

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--

_"Time of Death... three am from heart failure." _

_Sakura collapsed, dimly aware that she'd fallen into a seat at the back of the room. She couldn't believe it. She just couldn't. She'd been around the dead before, of course, with her training in the medical arts it had been inevitable she'd had to learn the mysteries of flesh and blood through cadavers. And she'd seen the living, she'd known the old man here for many days, giving him comfort and helping him to rest. _

_But now was the first time in her life she'd seen death. _

_And like most mortals, she stood in awe and trembled in fear at its awesome power. _

_Not twenty minutes ago the patient had been alive. Old, in pain, his heart failing him, but alive. Now he was dead. And no medic-nin in this world could bring him back from such a state. _

_And she was responsible. _

_"This wasn't your fault, Sakura," said Tsunade with a heavy sigh, pinching the brow of her nose. Even for an older, experienced medic-nin, this sort of thing never got any easier. "Some people we... just can't save. No matter how hard we try." _

_In her head, Sakura knew this was true, and she nodded numbly. In her heart, however... well the heart wasn't so easy to convince. She'd already lost one person important to her because she hadn't been strong enough, she couldn't bear to go through that again. _

_Dimly, she became vaguely aware of Shizune taking her shoulder and guiding her out of the room, as the full-time hospital personnel covered the body in a black sheet. She got some water, but barely noticed when she drank it. She wasn't even crying... not yet, at least. Tonight she would, after she bid mom and dad goodnight and went to her room. Then it would hit her all at once and she'd fall into her bed sobbing, wondering where her innocent childhood had gone. _

_She would find a way to save those she cared about. _

_Even if she had to climb down into Hell and personally kick the Death God's rear herself. _

--

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--

Armed with fresh determination and a full stomach, thanks to Lee and Tekka, Sakura dried away her tears and pushed her fears into the back of her mind. Naruto wasn't dead yet, and he wouldn't die if she had any say in it. And as her friends testify too, once Sakura set her mind on something, you did not want to get into her way.

Returning to Naruto's bedside, Sakura beckoned over Lee, remembering her earlier hypothesis and wanting to confirm it now.

"Lee, I had any idea shortly before you two came back, I wanted to confirm it with you..." she explained. She pointed out the lesions positions on Naruto's bare chest and stomach. "Does this pattern look familiar to you at all?"

Rock Lee took a moment to study it, wondering idly what she was getting at. But the instant he did, his wide eyes blinked in shock, and he silently praised the wisdom of his beloved Sakura.

"It looks like..."

"Tenketsu, isn't it? It is..." she said.

Rock Lee nodded, reaching into the pack at his side for his little handbook, where he kept vital combat information and other such tidbits from Gai-sensei. It also included, on one page, a complete tenketsu chart that Neji had helped him make. Having been on the receiving end of it once or twice, Lee was anxious to learn more about his rival's abilities, and Neji had been interested in a practice dummy to seal, since it didn't affect Lee much.

Lee held up the book with the page in question, and there was no doubt. The lesions were forming on the skin in the exact place of the tenketsu points.

"What does this mean, Sakura-san?"

She frowned, feeling that sense of dread once more. "It means this... virus... its attacking the chakra system. That must be why the medic-nins were the first affected... those with more active chakra must be more susceptible."

"Then we must remove you from this place at once," stated Lee, thinking quickly. He reached down, but Sakura gently batted his hand away.

"No. I'm staying."

"Sakura-san, you just said..."

"I know what I said, Lee," she replied, her voice perfectly calm as she stood and turned to face him. Her jade eyes flashed in a warning manner. "I also said I'm not leaving. So unless you intend to pick me up bodily and haul me out of here..."

She didn't finish her threat, but her eyes did, and they promised untold pain if he even thought about it.

Rock Lee, however, did not back down easily. He swallowed and grimly replied. "... if that is what it takes to keep you safe," he replied evenly and respectfully. But he did lower his hand back down to his side.

"I'm the only one who can help here, Lee... I have to risk it," she said, turning back to examine Naruto. "For Naruto's sake... for all these villagers."

Grimly, he nodded, though he would've vastly preferred to grab her up and throw her over her shoulder, get them both far away from the plague as humanly possible. Instead, however, he simply said "What can I do to help?"

"Take a message to Lord Tekka."

--

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--

Lord Tekka climbed the stairs up to the second floor of his estate, locking himself up in his private study, and took a moment to make his way to the far window. Below, he watched as the green-clad, bushy-eyed ninja, the one called Lee, sped out of his estate. After delivering his message, he'd been all to happy to return to Sakura's side. The boy's affection for her was obvious and pathetic. What woman could love such a freak as he?

Shrugging, Tekka turned to proper matters at hand, notably the troubling new developments Sakura had unearthed. They threatened to ruin everything. Drawing out a scroll and dipping his quill in ink, he scribed a quick message to his comrades. Though few in Takaki knew it, their young lord was also a ninja. Only a chuunin, it was true, and not particularly promising one at that... he'd only barely passed the qualifying exams, and that mostly because of his teammates. So he'd been assigned a post here, and most had been content to forget about him.

Until a month ago when the plague started.

Tying up the scroll neatly, he made his way over to the cage with his messenger falcon, affixing the message.

"Fly swiftly," he said, instructing the falcon and giving it a light toss out the window. It's wings spread and it caught an updraft, and swiftly it was on the move. Within an hour the message would be delivered.

Then something would have to be done.

He shut the window, drew the drapes closed, then locked the door.

Tekka made his way to his wardrobe and flung it open wide, discarded the ceremonial robes and clothes of his office, his every day things and reached forward, yanking out the back of the wardrobe to conceal it's true purpose. Built into the wall, hidden behind it, an assortment of shinobi weapons and tools, including a forehead protector, though the dim light made the symbol difficult to see. Swiftly, he began to arm himself, strapping a holster onto his leg, a vest around his torso. He double-checked his scrolls and kunai.

All was in readiness.

--

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--

**Author's Notes: **

I can only presume Neji had to practice his attacks on a living target to do it properly, and that Lee would be unaffected (since he doesn't use ninjutsu or genjutsu). But it's all guesswork on my part.


	5. Surgical Strike

Three hours passed.

Sakura found it necessary to treat her own needs if she was to continue treating the patients. She'd found one particular brand of medicine and chakra healing that was proving valuable in slowing down the plague, but it sapped her strength quickly. So it was she ate, she rested. Didn't sleep though. No time for such a luxury. She now made her way to the center of town to get a drink, leaving Lee behind to tend to the patients (protected by gloves and a mask). As she walked along, she ran through her mind again what she knew, hoping to find a pattern, a clue... anything.

"The plague is spread by... no it can't just be touch," she surmised aloud. "Naruto's an idiot but he wouldn't have been infected, he was protected from the virus. So there must be more to it. .Okay, it's spread however..." she waved her hand vaguely, thinking to come back to that point. "Then it attacks the chakra system... wears the victim out, causing collapse... red lesions... fever... burns them up from the inside."

She sighed heavily as she reached the well, dropping down the barrel.

"Takes out the medic-nin first... it's almost like..."

She paused.

"... almost like it was deliberate."

Her hand quickly snapped out, catching the rope before she dropped the barrel back down, and she took another view of the whole Takaki situation, examining not as a medic-nin, but as a shinobi proper.

"... if I was a shinobi and I wanted to attack a village... a plague is ideal... no one can be blamed for it... it spreads quickly, kills everybody... they move in and occupy a village that offers virtually no resistance."

It was a horrifying possibility. She felt herself go numb. To think all this pain, all this suffering... so many dead... was all engineered by someone. She barely even noticed as she lifted up the cup to her lips, full of water...

... and paused...

_"I'll have to go and get some water from the well later." _

_"Oh there's no need for that, I've have a barrel sent down here." _

_"There's really no need..." _

_"I insist. _

_"Hey Sakura have we got any water to boil?" _

_"Not for a bit, just go to the well, Naruto!" _

She dashed the cup aside like it was a serpent, scattering the water everywhere. The pink-haired Sakura breathed heavily, aware of how close she'd been to poisoning herself. Naruto had come to the well but she and Lee had drank from the barrel Lord Tekka had sent them. That must've been how everyone all over got sick, virtually everyone used this well, it was the center of the village life. Worse, it was completely unprotected, anyone could stroll by and drop anything into the well to start the plague going.

"If that's how it's transmitted... if it's deliberate... they... whoever -they- are... must have a cure," she realized with a start. That was the answer.

Suddenly, an explosion split the near silence of the afternoon. Smoke and fire billowed up at the western end of the village, and she shielded her eyes in momentary surprise. Whoever -they- were... they were attacking. And the village was virtually defenseless.

"Oh god..."

--

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--

Outside of the Eastern Gates of Takaki, where the Konoha team had first entered.

Ten minutes ago.

Two shinobi guards, chuunin rank and quite bored, had been placed on guard duty here to protect the plague town. Orders were to kill anyone entering or leaving without the proper papers. No exceptions. The plague had to be contained at all costs or hundreds upon thousands of people would be at risk, including their families (one was a grizzled veteran with a surviving son, the other had a wife and a kid on the way). They would not fail to stop the plague.

However, neither of them was able to deal with more mundane threats.

As the explosion at the west gates went off, both instinctively turned towards the source of it, leaving their backs exposed. As any Academy student could tell you, this was usually a fatal mistake.

Nine shuriken whizzed through the air with deadly precision, imbedding themselves into the backs of both guards and sending them crashing to the ground, dead within seconds. Their obstacles defeated, the team dropped down and crawled out from their hiding places.

It was a mix-matched group, dressed in shinobi fashion, wearing earthy browns and grays, and armed to the teeth with kunai and shuriken and all manner of assorted weapons. Axes and halberds and a chain-scythe, all of different shapes and sizes but with one universal... deadly... function. There were seven total. And each one was wearing a forehead protector, bearing the symbol of a small, jagged rock broken by a jagged line. They were from the Village Hidden in the Rocks, from the Earth Country.

As one, they turned to the shadowy figure standing by the now open East Gate.

"You're late," he stated.

One of the shinobi, a bald individual with a number of scrolls lying at his waist, stepped forward. "Trouble setting up the explosives at the west gate."

"Mmm, at least they went off," replied the shadowy figure, as he stepped into the light.

Light that broke through shadow to reveal black hair, pale skin, dark eyes. Gone were the dark blue garments befitting a nobleman, replaced by the dull gray's and brown garments of a shinobi, accompanied by a flak jacket.

Lord of Takaki and secret Chuunin of Hidden Rock, Tekka.

"You have your orders," he stated, arms folded across his flak jacket. It was good to finally step out of the lie he'd been living the past year or so.

They grinned wickedly.

"Wipe out the villagers, take what spoils you want... but spare the pink-haired girl. She's mine."

--

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--

Sakura ran blindly, not entirely sure where she was going. The village had a number of twists and turns that it was easy to get lost. She was about to leap up onto the rooftops to run more easily when she spotted a welcome flash of green, and turned her steps towards Kononha's Beautiful Green Beast.

"Lee-san!"

"Sakuran-san!" he replied, skidding to a halt in front of her. "What has happened? I heard the explosions..."

"It's an attack. Some enemy village is trying to destroy Takaki," she replied breathlessly. "Lee... this plague... I think it was a pre-emptive strike. I think someone put it here deliberately!"

His bushy eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Are you sure?"

"Positive," she replied, assuming command of the situation. "Head to the west gate, they're going to need back-up."

He nodded. "What of you?" he asked, his concern as always first and foremost on his teammates.

"I need to go back to the infirmary... I might have something that can help... it's a long shot..."

"Go," he said. "They won't get past me... that's a promise," he said, striking a nice guy pose and flashing his teeth. Sakura smiled... in the midst of all the death and destruction, Lee would always be Lee.

It was comforting to know some things never changed.

Sakura and Lee parted ways, and from then on she just ran flat out as fast as she could back to the make shift infirmary and to her patients. If she let up her ministrations for more than an hour some of them would die. She had to trust that Lee and the other shinobi would be able to hold off the attackers.

And even if they didn't, the sick needed a last line of defense. She might've been trained a medic-nin but Sakura was also a ninja. She'd studied under the Fifth Hokage, the Legendary Healer Tsunade herself, and she would not lose.

Not with so much at stake.

Fortunately she'd had something of a revelation when she'd figured out about the plague being a deliberate ninja trap. Now she had some idea of how to counter it. If Neji had been here, she would've asked him to try and seal tenketsu points to see if it slowed down the progress of the disease. Alas, she would have to try and do the same herself, and her precision was far from perfect. She might not have practiced gentle fist but she knew how to manipulate a person's chakra from her training with Tsunade.

She arrived back at the infirmary with moments to spare, or so it seemed. No sooner had she reached the building then she came under attack from above. A flurry of shurikens rained down at her, but she gracefully leapt forward and rolled, dodging out of the line of fire. Instantly she was on her feet, kunai in hand.

Two shinobi came charging. She barely got a glimpse before she had to leap out of the way, but she saw enough. Hidden Rock flunkies, probably just Genin. Still, there'd be more where they came from, so she had to end this quick.

Three shuriken slammed into her unprotected back, and Sakura gave out a cry, even as the two shinobi below gave hollers of delight. Hollers which changed to gasps of shock as she puffed out of existence, replaced by a tree log which crashed onto the ground with shuriken inbedded into it.

"_Kawamiri no Jutsu_!" they roared, tricked.

Now it was her turn.

Two kunai shot down from a nearby rooftop, and the first shinobi leapt backwards and out of the way, but the second wasn't fast enough as the sharp blades imbedded themselves at his feet. Normally that wouldn't have bothered him at all, but both of these kunai had exploding tags attached to the bottom. They blew up in a most spectacular way, sending the shinobi flying through the air to crash against a nearby wall. He wouldn't be getting up again anytime soon.

The second Rock ninja hurled a storm of shuriken at her, and this time Sakura wasn't able to dodge aside in time quickly enough. Two shuriken tore along the edge of her leg, and she stumbled, crashing down to the ground.

"Heh, gotcha you stupid bitch," grunted the shinobi in question, reaching behind his back to draw out a heavy duty kunai, one more easily used as a short sword than as a throwing dagger. Idly he spun the blade upon two fingers as he advanced upon her.

"Now... you're gonna die!" he raised the blade up high. Sakura covered her head...

A shuriken spun through the air, and hit the Rock ninja right in the back of his hand. He gave a most undignified (almost girlish) screech and dropped his weapon, clutching at his injured hand. Sakura glanced up in surprise, wondering who on earth could've come to save her.

"Lee...?"

As her vision cleared, she spotted her savior as he emerged from the shadows of a nearby building. Light that broke through shadow to reveal black hair, pale skin, dark eyes. Gone were the dark blue garments befitting a nobleman, replaced by the dull gray's and brown garments of a shinobi, accompanied by a flak jacket.

Lord Tekka had saved her. Sakura was overjoyed.

"Lord Tekka!"

He smiled gently. "Sakura-chan... glad to see you're alright," he said... but then his smile turned to a smirk as he glanced over at the Rock Ninja.

Now he was going to rip him apart, she realized, with more than a little girlish glee. He was going to pound him into dust. No wonder he was so cool, he was a ninja. He was...!

And then her eyes came to rest on his forehead protector, and she saw the symbol. A jagged, broken rock.

"I thought I told you the pink-haired girl was mine. Am I not making myself perfectly clear?" asked Tekka, as he strolled over to the other Rock ninja and hit him full across the face, sending him crashing to the ground. "Idiot!"

"L-lord Tekka... how... how could... no..."

He smirked, glancing back over at her. "The real lord Tekka never came to Takaki. The Damiyo's nephew was ambushed and replaced long before then... by me. With the proper papers, anyone could've strolled in and claimed to be a noble. All I had to do was fake sick if 'uncle dearest' happened to come by for a visit. That or maybe a _Henge no Jutsu_. I was told back at the Academy I was quite good at deception... what do you think, Sakura-chan?"

"You... bastard..." she said, infusing the word with hatred. "Everything you told me was a lie."

He chuckled. "Nothing so mundane... anyone can lie... I told you nothing but the truth. I said I thought you were pretty... and you are. I told you it'd be better if you drank barrel water instead of from the well, and it is. I also told you your comrades are a freak and an idiot... and they are. I wonder if they're not dead already?"

"I'll stop you," said Sakura, palming another kunai and pushing herself to her feet. Her one bad leg gave out, however, and she dropped down onto one knee. "I'll save them!"

"Heh."

"You… insufferable… bastard," she growled up at him.

He frowned faintly. "I did what was necessary for the mission, like any shinobi would've," he replied darkly. "I'd kill you for the mission, if I had to… thankfully that won't be necessary. But if it was, I would do so without so much as a backwards glance, my beloved little Sa-ku-ra," he stated, drawing out her name slowly, as if addressing a child.

Lord Tekka raised up his hand, and from the shadows dropped down his five shinobi henchmen, the Rock ninja who'd come as part of the team to wipe out Takaki village. Against such odds, Sakura was hopelessly outnumbered and likely outclassed as well, but she grimly held her ground. They would not frighten her.

"You two... go inside..." he ordered, pointing at the building past Sakura. "Slay everyone. You five... bring me the girl. Undamaged, if you can."

Two shinobi immediately broke off from the main group and shot past them, even before Sakura could halt their advance, slipping past her and running towards the infirmary. Helpless to stop them, she could only watch in terror as the other three began to advance upon her, and she realized she couldn't save them. Not if she didn't save herself first.

--

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--

Inside of the infirmary, at the far end of the rows of cots, lay an orange-clad shinobi by the name of Uzumaki Naruto. His breathing came labored, his body was blood red, as if he'd been through a great battle, and lesions covered his skin. No one even needed to touch his forehead now to check if he had a fever, the heat from his body was evident to all present within a few feet of his body.

It was if a raging, terrible fire burned just beneath his skin.

However, his breathing came more quickly, and he thrashed about weakly, caught in some terrible nightmare. And then his breathing slowed... and came to a stop.

His eyes snapped open, and they were as crimson as his flesh.

--

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**Author's Notes: **

Cliche, I know, but yet another person has infiltrated Konoha by posing as someone they're not.


	6. Life and Death

Sakura grimly held her ground, kunai upraised, and prepared to fight her darndest. She wouldn't be taken prisoner by Hidden Rock. Or worse, that insufferable bastard Tekka. She'd seen his eyes, she knew that look. And she'd heard tales of what happened to capture kunoichi. Not a chance this side of Hell. She'd slit her own wrists first before she became his toy.

Fortunately, such was not to be her fate.

"_Dynamic Entry_!"

A sandaled foot slammed into the lead Rock ninja's face, sending him flying through the air. As one, the others stopped and stepped back, uncertain of this new foe who'd entered their midst. A follow up attack from their new opponent slammed into their guts and sent them backwards a bit more, giving breathing space for Sakura. Lord Tekka's expression was one of sheer disbelief. And then one of outright anger.

Standing before Sakura, hand upraised, was Rock Lee.

"Who the hell are you, brat?!" roared one of the surprised Rock ninja, a big brute armed with a heavy, spiked club.

"Konoha's Beautiful Green Beast, Rock Lee," replied the green-clad boy evenly. He glanced over his shoulder at Sakura. "Are you alright?"

"I... I think so," she said, standing, testing her leg. It still hurt, but she was able to stand... barely. She didn't trust her full weight to her right leg just yet, however. "How did you know to come back?"

He smiled, even as he turned back to his opponents. "I have told you before, Sakura-san. Whenever you are in danger, I will appear. I will protect you with my life."

He did not add that he'd run full-tilt towards the west gate and, with his superior speed, found that it had already been destroyed. Surmising correctly that the enemy had already broken into the town, he guessed they would move to take out those in the infirmary and thus eliminate as many people as quickly as they could. So he'd run as fast as he could right back, and only barely arrived in the nick of time, or so it seemed.

His eyes locked onto the enemy leader, and his eyebrows narrowed in anger. "Lord Tekka... what is the meaning of this?"

Tekka smirked. "War, of course... Hidden Rock's been wanting revenge on Hidden Leaf for years now, ever since their last conflict over a decade ago. But as you're no doubt well aware, Hidden Leaf and Hidden Rock are both unable to carry out another war. Both sides are still recovering from the last one. So we've had to be, shall we say... inventive."

"So you are the one. You slipped this plague into Takaki."

"I did indeed... and no one was any the wiser. And within just a few minutes, everyone in that building is going to be dead, whether by the plague or my men, and the only obstacle left is you. One useless little taijutsu specialist. Oh yes... didn't I mention? Sakura told me -everything-."

Rock Lee frowned but remained calm, though it burned him inside to hear his beloved Sakura spoken of so poorly... used so poorly. The Springtime of Youth demanded revenge. But he had a mission to consider as well. Fortunately, the fact that he was not only protecting someone he cared for, but many people, enabled him to fulfill one of the promises he'd made to Gai-sensei.

With slow, deliberate motions, he reached down into his legwarmers and unlatched his weights, lifting them up.

"Weights?" asked Tekka, a little surprised. Sakura hadn't mentioned those. "Do you honestly expect such a cheap trick to help y-..."

Lee dropped the weights, and they hit like a pair of tiny boulders, leaving a noticeable dent in the ground. The Rock ninja took an instinctive step back, and this time Tekka joined them, uncertain what to make of his foe. Sakura had described Lee as nothing special. Brave, competent, but with no special or noteworthy skills. Had she misjudged him?

Or had he simply not asked the right questions?

Lee held up his hand, beckoning on his opponents.

Deciding not to waste anymore time, Tekka shot out his hand, finger pointed at the boy with the bowl haircut. "Kill 'im!"

Spiked Club, or so Rock Lee had decided to label the heavy Rock ninja, charged forward, swinging his weapon. Lee countered, moving forward with a speed that bordering on blurring.

"_Konoha Shoufuu_!"

Rock Lee's leg snapped up with the force of a battering ram, slamming into Spiked Club's wrist and cracking it with the force behind it, forcing him to drop his weapon in mid-swing. It went crashing to the ground. Rock Lee wasted no time in springing forward, giving a vicious one-two punch to Spiked Club's unprotected stomach and chest, sending him crashing to the ground.

Six kunai came flying at Konoha's Beautiful Green Beast, but he was amply prepared from his training, and caught one as it came at him, using it to deftly block the others, then returned the kunai to it's owner, who barely dodged aside before it cost him an eye. Two Rock ninja came charging in, trying to overwhelm the thin, wiry boy with sheer numbers and brute strength. Rock Lee leapt up and decided to give himself some more space.

"_Konoha Senpuu_!"

One hard sweeping kick knocked them both back, and Lee dropped to his feet. Before he'd even fully landed he was off like a shot, moving in amongst his enemies, his fists and feet a blur of motion as he showed them exactly what three years of determined taijutsu training could do to a man. Punches, kicks, uppercuts and jabs, roundhouse and reverse, even a headbutt which sent one Rock ninja to the ground with a bloody mess where his nose had previously been.

And Rock Lee never broke a sweat.

--

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--

Meanwhile, inside the makeshift infirmary, the two Rock ninja had begun their search. Their boss had informed them of one of the patients inside who might still be kicking, found in a little side room. A blonde boy, a Genin named Uzumaki. They figured they'd deal with him first. Most of the others would be dead soon enough anyway, they were just handling clean-up.

Finally, they found his cot, though not without some difficult, as they all looked virtually the same, everyone was covered up in bedsheets. Naruto's had his distinct blonde spikes rested on a pillow, but the rest of him was shrouded by linens. The Rock ninja lifted up his wakizashi sword and then brought it down with a decisive stroke, impaling the little boy upon it.

"Good, we're done here," said his partner. "Let's..."

Poof.

"What?"

A puff of smoke, and the cot was empty. "What the...?"

"Just kill them all, we haven't got time for this..." said the second Rock ninja.

However, as both of them watched in outright horror, each and every patient in the infirmary grabbed up their bedsheets and hurled them aside, then stood with eerie synchronization with each other, as if they shared a single mind.

Each one had the same blonde spikes as Naruto. Each one of them -was- Naruto.

And each one had crimson eyes and bared fangs, and wicked whiskers on their cheeks. Their body was free of lesions or, indeed, any sign of the plague. Their skin was universally smooth and unmarked. A crimson aura surrounded their bodies. Their hair waved in an unseen breeze as each and every Naruto advanced on the two Rock ninja, cutting off their exits and leaving them helpless.

No one outside could hear them when they started to scream. The walls were too thick.

--

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--

Unaware the villagers and Naruto were safe, Rock Lee stood atop a small pile of vanquished foes, arm still upraised, his entire body calm and focused on a single objective. The defeat of his remaining opponent.

Tekka.

"You're not bad... for a bushy-eyebrowed idiot," stated Tekka with a smirk. "But tell me... can you defeat a real ninja?" Rock Lee angrily bit back a retort. Gai-sensei had told him many times before that childish insults was a very cheap and ineffective means of fighting.

Sakura, however, had no such inhibitions.

"If we see one we'll let you know!" she shouted. Lee smirked. Trust his beloved Sakura to come up with a witty reply.

Tekka growled and charged forward, kunai filling his hands. Lee countered, moving in close as the two exchanged blows. Gone was any sense of Tekka's false clumsiness or hesitation, now he was all speed and agility. In fact, he quickly proved a match for Lee. What he lacked in raw speed he made up for in capable planning and maneuverability. He was also a master of the feint attack. Tekka's hurled both kunai, forcing Lee to tilt his body to dodge them, catching his fall with his hand and then pushing back up to his feet. As he did, Tekka's hands were already flowing into seals.

"_Bunshin no Jutsu_," he cried, and in moments, Rock Lee found himself surrounded by four Tekka's, each ready to fight him. However, if Tekka was hoping to throw Lee off by having him outnumbered, he was sorely mistaken. Training to battle Naruto's hard shadow _Bunshin_ made him accustomed to being outnumbered.

Thus, when the attacks came, Lee twisted, blocked, dodged, and returned just as good as he got. His fist slipped through three of the replications, and they vanished as insubstantial as smoke, leaving only the original behind. By process of elimination...

... Lee's fist shot out, catching Tekka full in the stomach...

... but he too vanished and faded like a morning fog.

"What?"

The sudden crunching of rocks altered Lee to a new threat, and he leapt upwards and out of the way seconds before the ground around his former standing spot lifted up and crushed together where he'd been standing like the maw of some great animal. Had he been half a second slower, he would've been crushed instantly. As it was, he landed gracefully out of harm's way as Tekka started to emerge from under the rocks, parting the soil as if it was water.

"_Dochuu Eigyo_," he stated quietly.

"A trick I should've expected from Hidden Rock," replied Lee. Now he understood. Tekka had created -four- replications, not three, and he'd slipped under the ground sometime while Lee had been fighting with them. Then he'd tried an earth attack, and nearly broken Lee in two.

Sakura watched with concern, unable to get involved. She couldn't keep up with the other two combatants, even if her leg was fully healed. She had to keep her eyes open and wait for an opportunity to help Lee.

Be careful Lee, she thought.

Truly, his opponent was dangerous. And Lee needed to end this fight quickly. But he couldn't resort to _Ura Renge_. The Fifth Hokage had forbidden it, saying he wasn't fully recovered yet. The strain on his body might tear him apart. And while Lee (and even Gai) had scoffed at the notion, she had threatened to send him back to the Academy if he even tried it.

So it wasn't an option.

Fortunately, he had others.

Lee charged forward and leapt upwards, foot upraised, preparing to smash across Tekka's face, hoping to end the fight quickly. However, to his vast disappointment, the Hidden Rock chuunin was amply prepared, and slammed his hands down on the ground.

"_Doro Gaeshi_!"

A great wall of rock rose up to counter Lee's strike, though to his credit, he shattered right through it. It dulled his blow, however, so that Tekka had enough time to dodge out of the way and counter with a quick one-two strike to Lee's gut that sent him rolling out of the way.

"That all you got, Leafling?" he asked mockingly, dusting off his hands.

Lee frowned, insulted, and charged forward again. But this time, Tekka had been counting on that, so he'd reached into his pack and hurled three kunai with one hand. Lee caught the first two, dodging aside the third, not even slowing his forward movement. However, this momentary lapse in his focus on his enemy was all Tekka needed for his -other- hand to slip into his holster pouch and draw out a small glass vial, filled with a sickly reddish fluid. Now that Lee was closer, and given his brief distraction, Tekka hurled the vial at him.

It shattered on impact, as it was designed to do, and instantly Lee was awash in a filthy crimson vial. He staggered, collapsing backwards onto the ground as it almost instantly took effect.

"Aaaagh!"

Tekka just laughed. "Imbecile boy... do you really think I'd be so easy to defeat? That's a concentrated form of the Crimson Plague I've just splashed you with... you'll be dead within ten minutes... at most. Heh... now nothing can save your little girlfriend, eh, Leafie?" he asked, holding up his pinkie to mock Rock Lee, who lay on the ground, writhing in agony. Red lesions were already starting to break out all over his skin.

"You los-..."

Tap. Tap.

Someone was tapping on his shoulder. Tekka blinked in surprise, turning around...

... just in time to see a small but powerful fist coming right towards his face.

"You... BASTARD!"

Sakura's fist struck with the force of a meteor, shattering Tekka's nose and cracking his jaw, rendering his face nothing less than a bloody mess. Her follow through sent him flying through the air like he'd been hurled from a catapult, and he went soaring off into the distance.

He'd land about a mile away from Takaki, on the edge of the Earth Country/Fire Country border, barely alive, missing half of his teeth.

"SHANNARO!"

--

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**Author's Notes: **

I've sooo wanted Sakura to make a similar move on Sasuke for ages now. forms seals Character substitution no jutsu! 


	7. Serenity

Her fist still aching from her power punch to Tekka's face, Sakura immediately turned to more immediate concerns. That being, Rock Lee, who lay on the ground. His skin was already starting to turn crimson.

"Sa-sakura..." he croaked out weakly, reaching up a hand.

Heedless of the danger, she took his hand in hers, squeezing it, knowing full well she was risking infection herself. "Lee, no... hold on... I'll find a cure... I swear I'll find a cure... don't you dare die on me, damnit!" She blinked away the tears threatening to spill from her eyes.

"Sakura... if I have to die..." he coughed weakly. "I..."

"Don't say that!" she swore angrily.

"I... have..." Cough. "... have to tell you..." he stated, his eyes unnaturally clear. "Sakura..."

Choking back a sob, she nodded. She couldn't deny Rock Lee this. Not after all he'd done for her, all he'd risked for her. He'd defended her life on countless occasions and she'd always gone running off after her precious 'Sasuke-kun,' leaving him behind. By all rights he should've given up on her a long time ago, found someone who could return his feelings.

But he didn't. He stayed.

Like Naruto, Rock Lee never backed down once he set his sights on something. Even love.

"Sakura, I... I..."

Blink.

Sakura, reaching up her spare hand to brush away her tears, blinked in shock at what she saw.

Rock Lee's skin had been covered by an accelerated form of the crimson plague. His whole body had broken out into red lesions in mere minutes of being infected. But now, as she watched, his body was regaining it's normal healthy color, and Rock Lee sat up as the coughs started to fade, then vanished entirely. Sakura slapped her free hand against Lee's forehead, checking his temperature. He was a little flushed, but nothing bad.

"... I... feel... fine?" he asked in surprise.

Sakura removed the back of her hand from his forehead, placing two fingers together in its place. "Chakra probing might give an answer..." she stated, her fingertips glowing an eerie green.

"P-perhaps it was a fake?" asked Lee. "To scare us?"

"Tekka wouldn't be that stupid..." Sakura started to reply, then gasped in shock, removing her hand.

"What? What is it?"

"It's you... oh god, Tekka -is- that stupid!"

"Me...? What?"

Then Sakura grabbed up her fuzzy-browed hero in her arms and hugged him shamelessly, crushing his head against her shoulder. "This is it!" she cried, tears flowing down her cheeks. Tears of joy. "This is the answer we've been looking for! It's the cure, Rock Lee!"

Only vaguely accustomed to being shaken about by a screaming female teammate (working with TenTen tended to do that to him) Rock Lee shook his head and took a moment to gather his thoughts. What was going on?

"It's the cure! It's you!"

--

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--

Rock Lee had been born without the ability to properly mold chakra with handseals. Even with the most intense of training, the most powerful drive to succeed, he could never master ninjutsu or genjutsu. No matter how often he practiced, no effect would come when he made the necessary hand seals. Nor did it seem likely that he ever would.

When Tsunade had become Hokage, she'd had a lot of work ahead of her, but she'd displayed a pointed interest in the progress of Rock Lee, healing him after his duel with Gaara. She too was mildly curious by his inability to mold chakra, which virtually anyone could do with the right training. Sometime shortly after her surgery to restore his body to health, she did some studies of her own on his blood samples. She might not have been a brilliant gene splicer and chakra manipulator like Orochimaru, but she was one of the Legendary Sannin, and her understanding of the human body was near unparalleled in the shinobi world.

She'd discovered, what she confided to Sakura, what seemed to be a sort of 'reverse' bloodline limit.

Whereas most bloodline limits were usually blessed things, imbuing the shinobi born with traits and jutsu that could never be mastered (and never copied) by anyone but those born with it, Rock Lee had been born without the ability to mold chakra. It was inherent in him down to his DNA. A freakish mutation of sorts, though both Tsunade and Sakura politely never used the term around Lee.

It was in his blood.

And his blood was the cure.

Sakura couldn't be very gentle as she quickly grabbed some nearby needles to draw Lee's blood. But he was tough, and she was as delicate as she could be given the haste needed for her present situation. Some of the patients only had a short amount of time left. While she drew out the scarlet fluid and began to fill vials of it, Sakura explained her revelation (since Lee was, at this point, completely confused).

"The disease was made by ninja," she explained, shaking one of the vials. "It was designed to attack the chakra system. But your... er... unique... bloodline makes you immune to it, because you cannot mold chakra. Not like normal ninja do, at least." She applied her fingers to the vial, and they began to glow with green energy.

"_Shousen Jutsu_," she intoned. Within minutes, the red blood began to disperse, leaving only behind a bluish fluid in it's place. Sakura's mastery of fine chakra manipulation was clearing out Lee's blood, leaving the antibodies behind.

"So I am immune... and you hope to find what is in my blood to make me immune... and make more for everyone?" asked Lee.

"Exactly."

"Are you sure you can do that?"

"Positive," she replied, readying a syringe and prepping the first dose. It was a little selfish, but this was what she'd been taught to do. A medic-nin who fell in battle was of no use to her comrades. So before you kept them alive, you had to keep yourself alive.

Grimacing lightly as she drove the needle into her arm, Sakura let the cure flow into her veins, protecting her. Now safe, she turned her attention to making more. Lots more.

She had a lot of work to do.

--

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--

It took Sakura nearly a full day to completely create and administer the cure to everyone in Takaki, working well into the night and with the aid of Lee and Naruto to distribute it throughout the remainder of the city. They'd found Naruto fast asleep in a side room of the infirmary, snoring, and with two badly beaten Rock ninjas. Neither of them had known what to make of it, so they'd decided to leave the mystery for later. Naruto's _Kage Bunshin_ had been irreplaceable in helping to spread and deliver the cure all over the city.

Finally, in the dark hours of the morning, Sakura could rest, and she lay on the only remaining cot in the infirmary, with Lee and Naruto watching on with quiet little smiles.

She slept like that much of the day, and even a little into the next, completely worn out from her work. But it had been well worth it. To be fair, some of the people hadn't received the cure in time. And as was necessary, their bodies had to be burned to prevent the spread of infection. Sakura had almost dreaded the thought of going to the families of those who'd perished, but to her vast astonishment, she saw no bitterness, no hatred, no anger.

One little girl, who's mother had died in the plague, had summed up exactly how they felt as she gave Sakura a hug. "My mom may be gone... and I'm sad... but I still have dad and my big bro back. You saved us. Thank you, Sakura-sama."

They'd all been like that. The village Elders, who'd replaced the deposed Lord Tekka (or whomever he had really been), had even tried to convince Sakura to stay behind as the village's medic-nin. She'd politely declined. Her home was in Konoha, her place was there. Word had been sent ahead and Tsunade was sending a replacement team of medical ninja and regular ones to redouble the posts against a future attack from the Earth Country. She doubted there would be. Tsunade was intent on having a rather stern word with the Tsuchikage of Hidden Rock. They couldn't risk an open war, but if anyone thought that was going to stop Tsunade from finding some way to punish them for their audacity, they were sadly mistaken.

So Sakura had packed up her things and bid them all a fond farewell, departing with Rock Lee and Naruto by her sides.

With the two of them with her, there was nothing she couldn't do.

"I got it!" exclaimed Lee. "Naruto-kun must have woken in time to see the attackers, and fought valiantly with all that remained of his energy, defeating them soundly," stated Lee, mimicking the fight in his mind with kicks and punches to the air. "But once he finished, he collapsed, drained of energy. Truly, it was a Springtime of Youth miracle!"

"That can't be what happened," replied Sakura. Lee had been trying to figure it out for ages now. So had she, truthfully. "Naruto was sick when we left him... and we found him cured. I didn't even get a chance to administer the cure," she said, holding up the last vial. She was going to take it to Tsunade, to add to her medical books in case the Crimson Plague ever broke out again.

"Eehhh... I dunno -what- happened," remarked Naruto, arms on the back of his head as he strolled casually forward. His face was scrunched up in deep thought. "I dunno about being sick either... I never get sick. I must've just been really tired."

"You were sick! I saw the lesions!" exclaimed Sakura. "Do you honestly not remember any of it?"

"Last thing I remember is lying down to catch my breath, picking that Marjoram stuff off the ground... then I woke up to find you two over me in the infirmary."

Sakura shook her head, silently amazed at both Naruto's resilience and his stupidity. How he survived the Crimson Plague, she'd never know. She was half-tempted to do a little light chakra probing on him, get an idea of what his blood was like... but ultimately, she decided it didn't matter. They had the cure, the village was safe. Tekka had been defeated (either he'd die or be caught soon enough) and both of the important people in her life were safe.

She couldn't have been happier. She could leave a little mystery for later.

--

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**Author's Notes: **

Naruto's escape from death was, obviously, influenced by the Kyuubi (as more than a few of you predicted), but since so few are yet aware of his carrying the demon post-Timeskip I had to keep them in the dark for now. 


End file.
